Mounting means for flares



Oct. 31, 1939. o. c. RlTZ-WOLLER MOUNTING MEANS FOR FLARES Filed July 13, 1936 Patented a. 31, 1939 om'rso STATES PATENT OFFICE MOUNTING MEANSFOR FLARES,

Oliver C. Ritz-Woller, Chicago, 111.

Application July 13,

3 Claims.-

ivly invention relates to mounting means for flares, and it has for its object the provision of a new and improved form and arrangement of parts for supporting one or more flares on a truck in position to be instantly available for use whenever needed. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide improved means'of this type comprising a clamping device adapted to hold a single flare securely in position so as to be locked in place by the use of a padlock, or comprising alternatively a plurality of clamping devices each adapted to hold a flare and arranged so that the several flares can be locked in position by the use of a single padlock.

It is another object of my invention to improve devices of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which I have accomplished my several objects are illustrated in the drawing and are hereinafter specifically described. That which I believe to be new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims.

In the drawing? Fig. 1 is a side view of a flare locked in position by the use of my improved mounting means;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross sectional View taken at line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of an alternative arrangement by which a plurality of flares are locked in position, a portion of the view being shown in cross section; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 but showing one of the flares removed and the second flare in elevated position in the course of its removal from the mounting means.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, in which corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference characters, Ill indicates a clamping device in the form of a flexible bandof metal comprising a base portion II secured in position upon a standard l2 by means of screws !3 and a front portion M which is hingedly connected with the portion H at one side thereof. As is best shown in Fig. 2, the ends of the band portions I! and M are bent outwardly in the form of lugs l5 and It in substantially parallel position with respect to each other. Said lugs are connected by means of a bolt I! having a square portion I8 adjacent to its head extending through the lug l5 so as to be held against rotation with respect thereto. Upon the end of the bolt H for secur-' ing the lug It thereon I have mounted a double wing nut l9 by which the lugs and I6 can be tightened about a flare 20, such flare having an 55 outwardly extending rib 2| thereabout at its 1936, Serial No. 90.347

upper end adapted to limit the downward movement of the flare within the band. Through the end of the bolt lland about one of the wings of the nut, I mount the hasp of a padlock 22 whereby the nut is held from rotation such as would be necessary for releasing the pressure upon the flare ill.

By the use of my improved arrangement which is of very simple construction, I have provided a means effective for preventing loss of a flare. The screws 13 by which the base portion of the band is secured in position upon the standard l2 are protected by the flare against access from the outside while the flare is in position and the padlock and bolt effectively prevent loosening of the band about the flare so as to prevent unauthorized removal of the flare.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and i, a bracket 23 made of channel bar and bent into the form of a yoke is employed, secured in position upon a supporting bar 24 by means of screws 25. Upon the yoke 23 I have provided three clamping bands 26, 21 and 28 which in the arrangement shown are of the same type as that above described, each of said three clamping devices being secured in positionupon the bar by means of rivets 29 or in any other approved manner. The lowermost band 26 is in position to support a flare in position immediately above the lower arm 30 of the yoke, while the topmost band 28 is in position to support a flare 20 immediately below the upper arm 3| of the yoke whereby the flare is held against upward movement. By the use of this arrangement, I am enabled to lock the three flares by the use of a single padlock, the ends of the bolts ll of the lower two bands being deformed at Ila so as to prevent removal of the nuts l9 therefrom. With this arrangement, the lower bands can be loosened readily but the flares cannot then be removed until the upper flare has been moved out of the way so as to permit the lower flares to move upwardly for release from the bands in which they are mounted.

With the parts in the position as shown in Fig. 3, a single padlock 32 effectively protects the three flares. Whenever it is desired to remove the flares, the padlock 32 is removed and the nut 19 is removed from the bolt ll of the clamping device 28 so as to permit the band portion 14 to be swung forwardly on its hinged connection with the band portion II for permitting the removal of the top flare by a transverse movement. The nuts l9 on the other two bolts are then loosened so as to permit the other two flares to be moved upwardly out of engagement with the lower bands.

While I prefer to employ the form of arrangement as shown in my drawing and as above described, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the form and arrangement as shown except so far as the narrower claims may be so limited by their terms, it being understood that changes might well be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. A flare mounting means comprising in combination a clamping device mounted rigidly in position and adapted to hold a flare so as to be removable therefrom only by upward movement therein, a second clamping device mounted rigidly in position to hold a second flare immediately above the flare in said first named clamping device so as to be removable therefrom by a movement either upwardly or horizontally and arranged so that when a flare is in normal position therein the flare in said first named clamping device cannot be moved upwardly out of position therein, and means for locking said second clamping device for preventing removal of a flare therefrom.

2. A flare mounting means comprising in combination a clamping device mounted rigidly in position and adapted to hold a flare so as to be removable therefrom only by upward movement therein, a second clamping device mounted rigidly in position to hold a second flare immediately above the flare in said first named clamping device so as to be removable therefrom by a movement either upwardly or horizontally and arranged so that when a flare is in normal position therein the flare in said first named clamping device cannot be moved upwardly out of position therein, means located above said second clamping device adapted by engagement with the flare in said second clamping device to prevent its movement upwardly out of position therein, and means for locking said second clamping device for preventing removal of a flare horizontally therefrom.

3. A flare mounting means comprising in combination a bracket made of a bar bent at its upper end portion to provide an arm at right angles thereto, a clamping device mounted on said bar adapted to hold a flare in position there in and located so that said arm prevents movement of the flare upwardly out of the clamping device and arranged so as to permit movement of the flare horizontally out of the clamping device, a second clamping device mounted rigidly on said bar below said first named clamping device and adapted to hold a second flare so as to be removable therefrom only by upward movement therein and arranged in such position that said second flare cannot be moved upwardly out of engagement therewith while said first named flare is in normal position in said first named clamping device, and means for locking said first named clamping device for preventing removal of a flare horizontally therefrom.

OLIVER C. RITZ-WOLLER. 

